It's always the quiet ones. The silent assassins. The unassuming opponents. They're the ones who don't get noticed until your first serve turns into a return ace, and it's 0-15.
For the past four fall season's, Kickapoo's silent assassin on the tennis court has been Meghan Zengel.
A likely nominee for Kickapoo High School's Nicest Girl superlative for the Class of 2016, the future Missouri State student is soft-spoken and humble, and she'll admit it, too.
"I don't think I even really cheered my first two years," she said. "But I think I've gotten a little louder."
But on the tennis court with a racquet in her hand, a single cross-court winner does enough talking for the entire Kickapoo side. That's because on the tennis court, Zengel lives a secret life as a punisher, and beyond that, an intimidator.
"My first introduction to her was her freshman year, standing there on the court with sunglasses on kind of like Dale Earnhardt, 'The Intimidator,' so, I started calling her 'The Intimidator.' Which is surprising because she's so unassuming with the power and skill she has," first-year Kickapoo head tennis coach, and long-time assistant, Eric Wilbur said.
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Kickapoo's Intimidator utilized a powerful forehand throughout her high school career, wasting away the leg muscles of her opponents with a smile never too far from her face.
Need proof? She described one of her toughest opponents in this year's state tournament as, "really nice." Odds are, her opponents are pleased that this nice girl with her nicer forehand is finally a challenge they no longer need to worry about.
Zengel posted an 18-5 singles record during her senior season and played a key role in the Chiefs securing a third consecutive Ozark Conference and Class 2 – District 10 title this season.
But the road didn't end there. Zengel and Kickapoo landed in the state semifinals before finally bowing out to Class 2 champion Rock Bridge.
However, it was Kickapoo's 5-4 quarterfinal win over Jefferson City that seemed to be a championship in its own right for Zengel. The Jays had been the deliverers of Kickapoo's state tournament stop sign in 2013 and 2014, but this year, the Chiefs tagged their northern neighbors back.
"It was very exciting," Zengel said. "We were all sitting around, and it was dead quiet. When Coral [Tracy] won the last point (with the team match tied 4-4), we all just ran onto the court. I don't think she even shook hands. It was just so exciting."
Zengel and Tracy also qualified for the Class 2 state doubles tournament this season, something she did every year but 2014-15.
"You have to see her play tennis to understand the different dynamic from just talking to her to how she is out there on the court, but if you say something to her, she always laughs and smiles," Wilbur said of Zengel, who picked up the sport at 11 years old along with friend and fellow Kickapoo senior Annie Lewis.
Don't try asking her about her strengths, either. She's team first, and always humble. Luckily, it's an easy task for those around her to praise her after a high school career that saw the senior slotted as her team's No. 1 or No. 2 for each and every one of her matches over the last four years.
"If you look at Meghan, she's so quiet, and then she gets out there and becomes this different dynamic of a person who just punishes that ball and her opponent," Wilbur said. "She's meant quite a bit to the program. She has a tremendous work ethic. She's a leader on the court in terms of her play, and she's always supportive of others, whether they win or lose."
With her career at Kickapoo wrapped up, Zengel walks away with a list of accomplishments worth smiling about. This year's run to the Class 2 state tournament semifinals was Kickapoo's first since a run to the title match in 2008, when they fell to St. Joseph's Academy, 5-1.
"I'm going to miss the team atmosphere and all the girls," she said. "We're a big family. We'd go to Panera in the mornings before matches, which sometimes probably wasn't the best idea."
Those match-day cinnamon crunch bagels had as much success as her opponents in slowing down The Intimidator.
